The Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (JACVB) is thrilled to share that newly released reports have shown that visitor spending has officially surpassed 2019’s pre-pandemic numbers as the highest levels of tourism spending ever measured, making 2022 a record-breaking year for tourism in Janesville.
Visitors spent $159 million in Janesville during 2022, generating a total economic impact of $240 million including indirect and induced impacts. Visitor spending saw growth of nearly 8% compared to 2019 and increased across all measured sectors, with shopping and dining continuing to be the largest spending categories. This total economic impact sustained 1,136 jobs (3.9% increase vs. 2021) and generated $13.7 million in state and local tax revenues (7% increase vs. 2021) in 2022. In fact, each household in Janesville would need to be taxed an additional $495 to replace the visitor taxes received in 2022.
Lodging demand in Janesville has continued to increase through a strong interest in leisure travel, a full year without major pandemic issues, and price gains during 2022. As a result, analysts expect visitor spending to continue in a much more sustainable way moving forward.
“We are excited to see visitor interest continue to increase and the positive impact this has on Janesville’s hospitality workforce,” shared Christine Rebout, Executive Director of the JACVB. “The data this week shows visitor activity generated $20 million in direct labor income and a total of $37 million when including indirect and induced impacts. Total tourism-generated income in Janesville in 2022 rebounded 11.5% above 2021, nearly $4 million more in income returning to Janesville households.”
As a state, Wisconsin also surpassed the previous statewide record of $22.2 billion set in 2019 with $23.7 billion in total economic impact according to new reports from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. The highest-ever overnight visits helped fuel the growth, with Rock County playing a pivotal role by contributing $439 million in total business sales, up 11.6% compared to 2021. This increase translated into more than $122 million in total labor income, a 7.6% jump over 2021.
The Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau commissioned Tourism Economics to produce Janesville-specific reports for the 2022 year. The Department of Tourism worked with national research firms Tourism Economics and Longwoods International to produce the reports.
The Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (JACVB) is a private, non-profit Destination Marketing Organization, whose mission is to lead, support and promote tourism in the area by promoting Janesville as a prime destination for meetings and conventions, motorcoach and leisure travelers, thereby creating a positive economic impact on the community and enhancing the quality of life. The JACVB is funded by local hotel room tax and receives approximately 60% of the room tax collected by the City of Janesville with the remainder going into the city’s general fund.